Agenda item

Listening and responding to residents about the proposed Rougier Route bus priority.

Tom Horner, Head of Active and sustainable Transport explained that alongside Park and Ride sites and Station Gateway, the Rougier Route proposal aims to further improve bus services punctuality in the city.

More that 1,000 of buses travel over three city centre bridges every day with the bulk using the Rougier street corridor. Confidence in bus service punctuality, especially commute to the city centre, or the train station is low. With new housing being built and York’s popularity growing there is a need for a bus service meeting those increasing demands and for journey times to reduce. The intention is to create a sustainable mode of transport which works for residents and visitors. Several potential improvements were explored, including creation of dedicated bus lanes, city centre bus priority, or focussing on the corridor with highest bus travel frequency and where the impact of delays is greatest. Having examined services approaching from east and west side of York via Rougier Street it became clear that removing through traffic is the only way to achieve bus reliability improvements.

Rougier Route proposal features three core design principles:

·       Retention of vehicle access to all existing parking spaces and loading bays.

·       Prioritisation of the movement of sustainable modes of travel led by the transport hierarchy.

·       Delivery of bus journey time savings and making services more reliable.

A new bus loop will be created at the railway station providing space for services approaching from the east side of York.

Opening the Tower Street roundabout to buses was explored as part of modelling, however findings indicate that it would result in a gridlock of the city centre, hence this option is not being pursued.

As part of the proposal the area of George Hudson Street and Micklegate towards the bridge, highlighted in orange on the attached plan, will be transformed to a bus lane with bus gates. This will reduce the amount of traffic moving across the Ouse Bridge.  Access will be maintained via an ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) technology.

The proposed transformation will result in more space for cyclists, additional bicycle parking and space for traders to set up outside encouraging people to spend more time in the area.

Changes to access restrictions on the south side of Bishophill, including residents access only at Victoria Bar will form part of the proposal. Private vehicles approaching over the bridge, or from Skeldergate will be able to access North Street, but not Micklegate, as per the traffic direction indicated with green arrows on the attached plan.

Consultation analysis is taking place over January and February and a report, including responses from the consultation. will be submitted to the Executive in spring 2026. If the proposal is approved an 18-month experimental trial period will be undertaken. The trial is envisaged to commence in summer 2026 and residents will be able to comment over the trial period. Appropriate signage informing about the ANPR will be installed and work undertaken with local businesses, hotels, Google and sat nav companies to advertise the trial.  No fines will be issued over the initial 6 months of the trial, only a warning letter. 

At this point Cllr Merrett invited questions in respect of the project.

Q – Will the additional traffic diverted onto Lendal Bridge have a negative impact on services on that route, such as bus numbers 1, 2, 5, 6?

A – The Council’s modelling suggests reduced traffic on Lendal due to traffic from Bootham not being able to use Lendal Bridge to cut through town.  The reason why an 18-month trial period is proposed is to provide sufficient time to properly test. We wouldn’t want to negatively impact on other services.

Q – What advantages does the modelling suggests?

A – It is difficult to quantify. Our modelling indicates that services reliability will improve enabling buses to arrive and depart at a time indicated on the timetable, which is monitored by the traffic commissioner.

Q – Traffic light timing on Gillygate and Lord Mayor’s Walk seems to work well. Will traffic light timing be adjusted as part of the proposal?

A – Yes, traffic light timing around the project area i.e. on Rougier Street will be adjusted accordingly.

Q – Will car club vehicles be exempt?

A – We will add it to the list for consideration.

Q – Can the bus corridor be extended to Coppergate where there is an issue with traffic obstructions caused by taxis? Perhaps it could be expanded as far as The Pavement? 

A – There is a specific budget for this project, but there might be an opportunity in the future. Pavement is on the list to look at separately.

Officers were thanked for their presentation and answering questions.